Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $188
Including buyer's premium
Michtav Galui with Milchemet Mitzvah, on the controversy “that the Orthodox community fought against those who came to destroy” and responses against the booklet Ohev Mishpat. Sighet: Menachem Mendel Wieder, 1888.
The book also includes the booklets published during the course of the polemic: Ein Mishpat by R. Shlomo Yehudah Leib Tabak, author of Erech Shai; Yashuv Mishpat by Rebbe Moshe Halberstam, Av Beit Din of Bardejov, R. Yeshayah HaKohen Rubin, Av Beit Din of Valea lui Mihai and R. Pinchas Weinberger, Av Beit Din of Negrești-Oaș; and Emek HaMishpat, by R. Yitzchak Eizik Friedman, Av Beit Din of Nyíregyháza.
Copy of R. Tzvi Hirsch Guttmann, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor [died 1908; see: Shem HaGedolim MeEretz Hagar, Tzadi, 22:1] – his signatures are on the top of the title page and on the endpaper:
“Tzvi Hirsch Guttmann”;
“Tzvi son of R. …, Av Beit Din of [Nyír]bátor”. On the endpaper is a handwritten ownership inscription by his son, R. Eliyahu Natan Guttmann:
“This book belongs to my father R. Tzvi Hirsch Guttmann, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor. I, R. Eliyahu Natan, write in the year [1895]” (R. Eliyahu Natan’s signature and stamp appear on the endpaper in Latin characters).
On the front endpaper is copied an additional letter of approbation to the Sighet community, which was left out when printing the book and was copied into the present copy:
“After the printing of this holy book was completed, I received an open letter from… R. Eliyahu Natan Guttmann, son of his father… Rabbi in [Nyír]bátor, and this is the addendum word for word” (apparently the letter was written by R. Eliyahu Natan Guttmann himself).
The present copy belonged to R. Tzvi Hirsch Rosenberg, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor – his stamps on the title page and additional leaves:
“Tzvi Rosenberg, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor and the region” [R. Tzvi Hirsch Rosenberg, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor. Began to serve in 1875 in the position of his father R. Mordechai Rosenberg, Av Beit Din of Nyírbátor and Tarcal (disciple of R. Avraham Shag). Near the end of his life he served in the Budapest rabbinate. Brother of R. Shaul Rosenberg, Av Beit Din of Ratzfert (Újfehértó).
[2], 2-42, 45-61, [24], 86-89, [32], 122-130, [5], 136-157, [2] leaves (some leaves are unpaginated, including the three booklets Ein Mishpat, Yashuv Mishpat and Emek Mishpat, which were distributed separately before the printing of the entire book was completed). Two leaves are missing (leaves 43-44). Approx. 25 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Creases and minor damage. Tears reinforced with tape on the title page and 4 subsequent pages. Stamps. New binding.
The Schism in the Sighet Community
In 1883-1890, a controversy broke out in Sighet between the members of the community who joined the Central Bureau of the Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Communities, and a group of community members who refused to be subordinate to the bureau, who established the Independent Sephardic Community and were registered as a status quo community. The Orthodox community was headed by the Yitav Lev and the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet, while the seceding camp was led by the local aristocracy, headed by the Kahana family, and some Vizhnitz Chassidim.
As time went on, the schism in the Sighet community became a controversy that divided many other Hungarian communities. Most Hungarian rabbis, as well as many rabbis from Galicia and Poland, took part in it. Both parties published various polemical writings, approbations and rulings, booklets and pamphlets, fliers and posters, supporting their respective arguments.
The history of the controversy, the claims and arguments, and approbations and responsa of various rabbis were incorporated primarily into two books – the seceding “Sephardic” community published its stance in the book Ohev Mishpat (see previous item), and in response, the Orthodox community published its stance in the present book, Milchemet Mitzvah.
The present book quotes approbations, responsa and letters of assent from Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam of Shinova; Rebbe Yehoshua Rokeach of Belz; Rebbe Shlomo Shapira, the Shem Shlomo of Munkacs; R. Shlomo Leib Tabak, author of Erech Shai; R. Chaim Tzvi Manheimer, Av Beit Din of Ungvar; R. Yoel Tzvi Roth, Av Beit Din of Khust, author of Beit HaYotzer; and additional Rebbes and other rabbis.
As the years went on the controversy subsided, and the Sephardic community rejoined the main community headed by the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $275
Including buyer's premium
Sefat Emet, “telling the final generation… of the destruction… of Satmar… by the instigation of some troublemakers, with the commentary Magen Giborim… relating to the decision about the [Satmar] rabbinate printed in it”. Printed by “Kehal Adat Yeshurun, Satmar orthodox community”. Satmar: Meir Leib Hirsch, 1929.
Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum’s appointment as Rabbi of Satmar was accompanied by a polemic lasting over six years. Only in 1934 did the dispute subside, after which the Rebbe came to the city and began to serve as Rabbi (see below at length). The present booklet, Sefat Emet, was printed at the beginning of that period by the party opposing the Rebbe’s appointment.
[9], 2-76, [8] leaves. Approx. 21 cm. Good condition. Creases and light wear. Inscriptions and stamps. Signatures of R. “Alter Baruch HaKohen Schoenbrunn”. New leather binding.
Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum’s Appointment to the Satmar Rabbinate
In summer 1928, shortly after the passing of the Rabbi of Satmar R. Eliezer David Grünwald, elections were held to appoint a new rabbi. One of the candidates suggested to replace him was Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum (who served at the time as Av Beit Din of Carei). Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum won the elections by majority vote, but the win was sharply contested by some community members who did not accept the results and appealed the election’s validity to the heads of the Central Orthodox Bureau, claiming there were severe cases of fraud and seeking to disqualify Rebbe Yoel’s victory. The controversy over the election lasted for six years, during which several repeated elections were conducted. During this period, polemical writings were published by both sides supporting their respective claims. These writings included, among other things, letters and responsa by the great Rebbes and other rabbis of the time in Hungary and Galicia.
The dispute subsided only six years later, when both sides finally agreed to accept Rebbe Yoel’s appointment as rabbi of the city. In 1934 Rebbe Yoel moved from Carei to Satmar, the city by which he is known as the Rebbe of Satmar.
The present book, Sefat Emet, was printed at the first stages of that dispute, and it presents the position of the opponents of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum’s appointment as Av Beit Din of Satmar. The author lays out his version of the events and accuses the other side of such things as election fraud, bribery, violence and appeal to secular authorities. The book includes approbations and responsa from some of the great authorities of the generation and various Beit Dins that dealt with the episode, including the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs, who gives permission to publish his opinion “about one who had a majority while many doubt whether there ever was a majority… by contrivances, multiplying slander and lies, whether this one can act to strengthen Torah religion…”; the Levushei Mordechai of Mád, who writes of “the scandal in Satmar”; R. Shalom Eliezer Halberstam of Ratzfert, who writes, “I have seen how the troublemakers are oppressing you, and how their whole aim is to make faction in your city… now I cannot contain myself from going the extra step to ask, beg and warn…”; R. David Sperber of Brașov; R. Yechiel Natan Halberstam, Av Beit Din of Bardejov.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $475
Including buyer's premium
Baruch Matir Asurim, booklet published by the Orthodox community of Carei. Seini (Satmar province): Yaakov Wieder, 1935.
Polemical booklet, including letters of the great Rabbis of the generation supporting R. Avraham Abish Horowitz's appointment as Rabbi and Av Beit Din of the Orthodox community in Carei, against his opponents.
Printed during the great dispute on the choice of a new Rabbi for the Orthodox community of Carei, after Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Carei, left to serve as Rabbi in Satmar. The great majority of the Carei community chose R. Avraham Abish (Abishel) Horowitz, son-in-law of the Rebbe of Spinka, the Chakal Yitzchak. Satmar Chassidim in the city didn't accept R. Abishel's appointment, and after their view was not accepted, they founded a small, separate community – the "Sephardic community", appointing R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești as their rabbi (cousin of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum).
In the introduction to the present booklet, R. Abishel's supporters relate the dispute over his appointment as Rabbi, and cite R. Shimon Sofer, Av Beit Din of Erlau (Eger), and the Levushei Mordechai of Mád. They go on to bring letters of assent from Hungarian Rebbes and other rabbis: the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs; R. Chaim Tzvi Ehrenreich, Av Beit Din of Mád; R. Asher Anshel Jungreis, Av Beit Din of Gyöngyös; R. Abishel's father-in-law, the Chakal Yitzchak, Rebbe of Spinka; his Mechutan R. David Dov Meisels, Av Beit Din of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely); his brother-in-law, Rebbe Yechezkel Halstock, Av Beit Din of Ostrowiec; R. Chaim Mordechai Yaakov Gottlieb, Av Beit Din of Miskolc; R. Menachem Brody, Av Beit Din of Kaliv (Nagykálló); R. Abishel's brother-in-law, R. Naftali Tzvi Weiss of Bilky (son of the Chakal Yitzchak of Spinka); R. Yechiel Baum, Av Beit Din of Guta (Kolárovo); R. Yitzchak Eizik Adler, Av Beit Din of Seredneye; R. Abishel's nephew, R. Menachem Mendel son of Asher Lemil Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Sędziszów.
R. Avraham Abish (Abishel) Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Carei (1897-1944, perished in the Holocaust), son of Rebbe Naftali Horowitz of Melitz (1845-1915) and son-in-law of the Chakal Yitzchak of Spinka. During World War I, he served in his father-in-law's position as Av Beit Din of Spinka. In 1934 he was appointed rabbi of Carei in 1934, a position previously held by Rebbe Yoel of Satmar. The Satmar Chassidim did not accept his authority, and appointed their own rabbi, R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești (grandson of Rebbe Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum of Volove). The Orthodox community was thus split into two factions. R. Abishel founded a large yeshiva, Beit Avraham, numbering about a hundred students, most from the Maramureș region. His son is R. Shmuel Tzvi Horowitz – Rebbe Hershel Spinker, the Spinka Rebbe of the United States (1921-1997), and his son-in-law is Rebbe Yaakov Yosef Weiss (1916-1988), the Spinka Rebbe of Bnei Brak.
[3], 3-16 pages. 23.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Creases and minor tears. Detached leaves. New binding.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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![Poster signed by the president of the Orthodox Bureau of Transylvania, R. Ben Tzion Wesel. Cluj (Klausenburg), [5 Adar I], 19](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Ol50/112.jpg "Controversy Surrounding Rabbi Abishel Horowitz of Spinka's Appointment")
Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $163
Including buyer's premium
Poster signed by the president of the Orthodox Bureau of Transylvania, R. Ben Tzion Wesel. Cluj (Klausenburg), [5 Adar I], 1935. Printed in Satmar by Meir Leib Hirsch. Hebrew and Yiddish print.
Printed poster – decision of the Orthodox Bureau of Transylvania to forbid the Av Beit Din of Carei, R. Avraham Abish Horowitz of Spinka, from halachic ruling, and disqualify the shochet he brought with him from Remeți, following his failure to comply with one of the Bureau's decisions: "Since Weinberger's faction in Carei, along with the rabbi chosen by them, R. Avraham Abish Horowitz, did not comply with the State Council Committee's decision… those who eat of the meat slaughtered by their shochet from Remeți are considered Neologs… and the above rabbi's halachic ruling is also forbidden as Neolog ruling" (see below).
At the bottom of the poster are printed the names of rebbes and rabbis who took part in the gathering that decided the above: Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, Rebbe Yekutiel Yehudah Teitelbaum of Sighet (son of the Atzei Chaim), R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești; Rebbe Yaakov Elimelech Panet of Deyzh; R. Baruch Bendit Lichtenstein, Av Beit Din of Kraszna; and other important rabbis.
The poster was printed in the wake of the heated controversy around the choice of a new rabbi for the Orthodox community of Carei, after Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Carei, moved to serve as Rabbi of Satmar. The vast majority of the Carei community chose R. Avraham Abish (Abishel) Horowitz as their rabbi, son-in-law of the Chakal Yitzchak, Rebbe of Spinka. On the other side, Satmar Chassidim in the city founded a small, separate "Sephardic community", and appointed R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești as rabbi (cousin of their Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum). Both rabbis directed separate yeshivas and community institutions and appointed separate shochatim. The old community shochatim did not accept the authority of the new rabbi, and R. Abishel was compelled to bring in a new shochet from Remeți, where he had served prior to his arrival in Carei.
After acts of violence between the two parties, the authorities appointed an official committee headed by R. Shabtai Weinberger, where R. Abishel's supporters had a majority (this committee is referred to in the present poster as "Weinberger's faction". Conversely, the Orthodox Bureau of Transylvania, headed by R. Ben Tzion Wesel, Av Beit Din of Turda, supported the seceding "Sephardic" community.
During this period, both parties published various polemical writings supporting their respective claims. Each side even published a newspaper representing its position – R. Abishel's supporters, Vizhnitz and Spinka Chassidim, published the newspaper Transylvanishe Yiddishe Zeitung, edited by R. Shmuel Tzvi Weiss, grandson of the Chakal Yitzchak; while followers of the Rebbe of Satmar and supporters of R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești published the newspaper Orthodoxishe Zeitung. The present poster, forbidding the meat slaughtered by the shochet of Remeți and disqualifying R. Abishel from halachic ruling, was also published during that heated period in Carei [see previous item: Kuntres Baruch Matir Asurim, containing letters of eminent rabbis supporting R. Abishel's appointment as Rabbi and Av Beit Din of Carei].
R. Avraham Abish (Abishel) Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Carei (1897-1944, perished in the Holocaust), son of Rebbe Naftali Horowitz of Melitz (1845-1915) and son-in-law of the Chakal Yitzchak of Spinka. During World War I, he served in his father-in-law's position as Av Beit Din of Spinka. In 1934 he was appointed rabbi of Carei in 1934, a position previously held by Rebbe Yoel of Satmar. The Satmar Chassidim did not accept his authority, and appointed their own rabbi, R. Shmuel Gross of Berbești (grandson of Rebbe Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum of Volove). The Orthodox community was thus split into two factions. R. Abishel founded a large yeshiva, Beit Avraham, numbering about a hundred students, most from the Maramureș region. His son is R. Shmuel Tzvi Horowitz – Rebbe Hershel Spinker, the Spinka Rebbe of the United States (1921-1997), and his son-in-law is Rebbe Yaakov Yosef Weiss (1916-1988), the Spinka Rebbe of Bnei Brak.
[1] leaf. 34 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and wear. Creases and tears. The poster is mounted on paper for preservation.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $213
Including buyer's premium
Mishpat LaAshukim, "passing judgment on the terrible oppression and great atrocity done to the shochet of Sângeorz-Băi and Ilva Mică, to the dismay of the Rabbis and Tzaddikim who stand by the poor…". Szamosújvár: Chaim Schoenfeld, [1910].
Sharp polemical work, by the heads of the Sângeorz-Băi community in Transylvania, R. Yosef Gans and R. Efraim Meister, printed in the wake of the prohibition laid by R. Avraham Yehoshua Freund, Av Beit Din of Interdam (Lușca) and Năsăud, on meat slaughtered by the shochet of Sângeorz-Băi, R. Avraham Chaim of Vișeu de Sus.
Over a hundred rabbis and Rebbes from Hungary and Galicia took part in the polemic, and the dispute even reached the secular authorities [in the same place and year the book Milchamot Chovah was printed, citing the Rebbes and rabbis who supported R. Avraham Yehoshua of Năsăud in prohibiting the meat of R. Avraham Chaim of Sângeorz-Băi, including Rebbes of Sanz, Sighet-Satmar; the Levushei Mordechai of Mád; R. Shaul Brach, Av Beit Din of Carei and others.]
The present work was edited by the dayan R. David Moskowitz of Năsăud, and contains apologetics and letters of support from Rebbes and rabbis of Hungary and Galicia who opposed the prohibition placed by R. Avraham Yehoshua of Năsăud on the shochet. The work contains three additional booklets: 1. Meshiv Milchamah, "a response to Milchamot Chovah published by the Rabbi of Interdam and his party"; 2. Mashbit Milchamah, "against rabbis who prohibit from afar… without proper examination"; 3. Eked Ro'im, the opinion of the rabbis supporting the Sângeorz-Băi community leaders and declaring R. Avraham Chaim fit as a shochet, including R. Moshe Shmuel Glasner, Av Beit Din of Klausenburg; R. Avraham Binyamin Kluger of Brody; R. Shimon Sofer, Av Beit Din of Erlau (Eger); the Maharsham of Berezhany; Rebbe Avraham Aharon Teitelbaum of Kolbuszowa; R. Meir Arik, Av Beit Din of Tarnów; the Chakal Yitzchak of Spinka and others.
[2], 3-18; [1], 2-8, [1]; [1], 1-16; [1], 2-25, 25-29 leaves. 24.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and light wear. Margins of title page and subsequent page repaired with paper. Stamps. New leather binding.
On the polemic regarding the shochet of Sângeorz-Băi, see: R. Yekutiel Yehudah Greenwald, The Shochet and Shechitah in Rabbinic Literature, New York, 1955, chapter 6, pp. 156-176 (Hebrew).
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $150
Including buyer's premium
Printed polemical booklet – "Open Letter", from the directors of the Orthodox "Torah-observant" community in Beregszász (Berehove) – the seceding Chassidic community. [Beregszász: Shmuel Klein, 1931 – missing title page].
"Open letter… to defend ourselves against the destroyers of the religion… and why we decided to secede from the local community of evildoers… a collection of our teachers' and leaders' words to strengthen weak arms… the Orthodox 'Torah-observant' community in Beregszász" (from the title page, which is missing in the present copy).
In 1930, the Rabbi of Beregszász, R. Shlomo Sofer (son of the Ketav Sofer) passed away. In accordance with his will, his son-in-law R. Avraham Shlomo Hirsch was appointed to his place as rabbi of the city. However, some community members opposed the appointment, and were supported by several important rebbes and rabbis, including Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. The dispute exacerbated until it reached various Batei Din and secular courts. In the elections for rabbi of the city, R. Avraham Shlomo was elected with a vast majority. Consequently, his opponents seceded from the central community and established an independent "Torah-observant" community. R. Asher Steinmetz was chosen as rabbi of the community, a follower of Rebbe Yoel of Satmar, son-in-law of R. Yisrael Freund, Av Beit Din of Hunedoara, son of R. Avraham Yehoshua Freund, Av Beit Din of Năsăud. In response, R. Avraham Shlomo Hirsch disqualified the shochet of the seceding community.
Several important Hungarian rebbes and rabbis participated in the controversy. Both parties published approbations and halachic rulings, booklets and arguments in support of their respective claims. The present booklet was printed by the seceding "Torah-observant" community, and in it the heads of the community detail the development of the controversy, the arguments and reasons supporting their side, and halachic rulings and responsa of rabbis and rebbes who took part in the dispute. Among them are: Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar; the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs; R. Shaul Brach of Nitra, Av Beit Din of Košice; R. Yosef Elimelech Kahana, Av Beit Din of Uzhhorod; the Levushei Mordechai of Mád; Rebbe Avraham Yehoshua Freund, Av Beit Din of Interdam and Năsăud; R. Shlomo Zalman Ehrenreich, Av Beit Din of Șimleu Silvaniei; R. Yitzchak Tzvi Amsel, Av Beit Din of Zborov; R. Asher Lemel Segal Spitzer, Av Beit Din of Kirchdorf; R. Yehoshua Buxbaum, Av Beit Din of Galanta; and many more.
At the end of the booklet are several pages (in Hungarian) with citations from the community ordinances.
[1], 4-55, [1] pages. Missing title page. 21 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and wear. Creases and marginal tears. Last pages repaired with paper. Partially-disconnected leaves. Missing cover.
Rare. To the best of our knowledge, has not been offered for sale at auction.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $150
Sold for: $300
Including buyer's premium
Printed polemical booklet – "Ketov Zot Zikaron BeSefer!" from the "Orthodox Torah-observant community of Khust" against the appointment of the "dayan of Ungvár" R. Yehoshua Grünwald as Rabbi of Khust. [Vynohradiv (Vinogradov, Sevlus): Klein, 1934.] Hebrew and Yiddish.
"Why we have had the Orthodox people… of our community gather and fight an obligatory war against the destroyers of the religion, who conspired… to appoint a rabbi [R. Yehoshua Grünwald] against the Torah and the ordinances and the adjurations of the great men of our time… And we turned to the great rabbis… what to do… Therefore we have separated from this evil community and established a new community here… the 'Orthodox Torah-observant community'".
In 1933, after the passing of the Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit, R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, and the appointment of R. Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky to his place, a frantic race began for the Khust rabbinate in Zakarpattia. At first there were three candidates – Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum (who then served as Av Beit Din of Carei); Rebbe Yaakov Yechizkiyahu Grünwald, the Vayaged Yaakov of Pupa [son of the Arugat HaBosem who formerly served as Av Beit Din of Khust], and his nephew R. Yehoshua Grünwald, the dayan of Ungvár (Uzhhorod), author of Chesed Yehoshua.
In the elections that were held in Tamuz 1934, R. Yehoshua won the support of the majority of the community, and on Rosh HaShanah eve, 1934 he began to serve as Rabbi of Khust [on p. 15 of the booklet is a photograph from the day of his arrival in Khust, surrounded by many policemen to keep him safe]. The supporters of his uncle, the Vayaged Yaakov of Pupa, refused to accept R. Yehoshua Grünwald's appointment as Rabbi of Khust and separated from the city's central Orthodox community and established a separate community called the "Orthodox Torah-observant community", and in order to be recognized by the secular authorities, they registered as a Neolog community.
The present booklet was printed by the independent seceding community headed by the Vayaged Yaakov of Pupa, in which the heads of the community recount the history of the controversy, the claims and reasons supporting their side, and the approbations and responsa of rabbis and rebbes supporting them: Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar; R. Shaul Brach of Nitra, Av Beit Din of Košice; R. Yitzchak Tzvi Amsel, Av Beit Din of Zborov; R. Asher Lemel Segal Spitzer, Av Beit Din of Kirchdorf; R. Yehoshua Buxbaum, Av Beit Din of Galanta; R. Shmuel David Ungar, Av Beit Din of Nitra; Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Magyarlápos (Târgu Lăpuș); R. Yehudah Segal Rosner, Av Beit Din of Săcueni; and more.
Against the present booklet, the central Khust community published the booklet "Kosht Divrei Emet – Response to the Allegations" (Munkacs, 1935), containing letters of rabbis and rebbes supporting R. Yehoshua Grünwald, led by the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs.
[2], 3-32 pages. 21 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Marginal tears and holes; open tears lightly affecting text on last pages. Disconnected pages. Missing back cover [containing the place of printing and name of the printer – see Bibliography of the Hebrew Book Project].
Rare. To the best of our knowledge, has not been offered for sale at auction.
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Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
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Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $350
Including buyer's premium
Kitvei Kodesh – Milchemet Mitzvah HeChadash – polemical work against Belz Chassidim in Munkacs. Munkacs (Mukachevo): Graphia, 1928. Hebrew and some German.
"Letters of halachic decisions… from… the famous protectors of our generation against the troublemaking party… destroyers of the faith, who deceitfully left the holy Orthodox community in Munkacs… published by the Orthodox Beit Din and leaders of this community".
Published in the wake of the great dispute in Munkacs between the Rabbi of the city, Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro, author of Minchat Elazar, and Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach of Belz, who fled his city during World War I and settled for some years in Munkacs. The Belz Chassidim in Munkacs founded an independent community called Adat Yere'im, and in order to achieve official recognition, registered it as a Neolog community. They appointed as their leader the dayan R. Shlomo Grünfeld, brother of R. Shimon (Maharshag) of Bűdszentmihály, and appointed their own shochatim. In consequence, the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs laid a ban against the new community and its shochatim. Both sides printed polemical works – Belz Chassidim published Sefer HaEdot VeHaMishpatim, Kuntres Kol MeHeichal Hashem, and more. Munkacs Chassidim in turn published Kuntres Da Mah SheTashiv and the present sharp polemical work – Kitvei Kodesh – Milchemet Mitzvah HeChadash, laying grave accusations against Belz Chassidim and including over a hundred letters of Rebbes and other rabbis supporting the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs.
Among the authors: the Levushei Mordechai of Mád; R. Shimon Sofer, Av Beit Din of Erlau (Eger); R. Shlomo Zalman Ehrenreich, Av Beit Din of Șimleu Silvaniei; R. Yosef Elimelech Kahana, Av Beit Din of Tzelem (Deutschkreutz); R. Shalom Sofer, Av Beit Din of Brezno; R. Moses Chaim Litch-Rosenbaum, Av Beit Din of Kleinwardein (Kisvárda); Rebbe Avraham Yehoshua Freund, Av Beit Din of Interdam (Lușca) and Năsăud; R. Yoel Ze'ev Wolf Glattstein, Av Beit Din of Helmetz (Kráľovský Chlmec); Rebbe Chanah Halberstam of Kołaczyce; R. Yehoshua Buxbaum, Av Beit Din of Galanta; R. Menachem Mendel Tennenbaum, Av Beit Din of Tarnów; R. David HaLevi Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk); R. Yehoshua Falk Jungreis, Av Beit Din of Santov (Abaújszántó); R. Shimon Sofer, Av Beit Din of Páks; R. David Dov Berish Meisels, Av Beit Din of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely); Rebbe Yechezkel Panet, Av Beit Din of Deyzh (Dej); R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld; R. Yeshayahu Silberstein, Av Beit Din of Weitzen (Vác); R. Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari (the Saba Kadisha, the Hakham Bashi of Damascus and later of Safed); and many others.
[8] leaves, [1], 2-120 pages. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases and minor marginal tears to some leaves (mostly last leaf). Inscriptions and stamps. Marginal trimming affecting headings of some leaves. New leather binding.
Category
Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
Catalogue
Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $100
Sold for: $625
Including buyer's premium
Two printed posters – letter of the Munkacs Rebbe against joining Agudat Yisrael, and a poster announcing his visit to Eretz Israel:
1. "Urgent warning", a poster containing a letter of Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs, author of Minchat Elazar, against Agudat Yisrael, and support and praise for Agudat HaKodesh founded in Jerusalem opposing Agudat Yisrael institutions. Jerusalem: Eretz Yisrael Press, [1929]. "Brought to press by special individuals, members of Agudat HaKodesh".
The poster was printed in the wake of the second Great Congress in Vienna (1929) and includes the warning of the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs against joining Agudat Yisrael: "An urgent warning from R. Chaim Elazar Shapiro, Gaon Av Beit Din of Munkacs… after the publication of the testimony and protocol of the Congress of Rabbis in Chop [in 1922] and subsequently the letter of the Geonim and Tzaddikim of the generation… and also the letter of the Rebbe [Rayatz] of Lubavitch… we decided to print once more the decision [of the Congress of Rabbis in Chop]… forbidding us… to join the Agudah… Chaim Elazar Shapiro".
The poster also singles out the Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw, the educational institutions of Agudat Yisrael in Eretz Israel and elsewhere, and the agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel for special blame. At the end of the poster, the Rebbe asks for assistance obtaining signatures and donations.
[1] leaf, 33.5 cm. Good condition. Folds and light creases. Minor tears to margins and folds.
2. "Urgent message", a poster announcing the arrival of Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro in Eretz Israel from Munkacs. Alexandria, Egypt: Yaakov Ben Atar, 9 Iyar, 1930.
In 1930, the Rebbe of Munkacs came for a short two-week visit in Eretz Israel. The goal of his trip was to meet the elderly Sephardic R. Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari, and to visit the holy sites and the Batei Munkacs neighborhood built by his followers in Jerusalem. The present poster was printed in advance of the Rebbe's arrival in Eretz Israel by the directors of the Munkacs Kollel in Jerusalem, and delineates the Rebbe's travel plans: "When the Rebbe of Munkacs comes for a short time to the Holy Land, he a[sks not to be disturbed] with any general or particular matter, since he will not involve himself in any political matter, and he only came here to visit the holy sites… And anyone who wishes to come even just for a greeting… can contact the committee appointed for this… Signed Wednesday, 9 Iyar, 1930, directors of Kollel Munkacs VeEser Gelilot".
[1] leaf, 27.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Creases and tears. Open tears, affecting some words in the text.
Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs (1872-1937), the Minchat Elazar, was a leading Torah scholar, halachic and Chassidic authority. Son of Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch Shapiro, author of Darchei Teshuvah, and grandson of Rebbe Shlomo Shapiro, author of Shem Shlomo (both also Av Beit Din of Munkacs), he was born to the dynasty of Rebbe Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, the Bnei Yissachar. He fought for the holiness of Judaism, and his halachic and kabbalistic teachings are studied all over the world. Author of Minchat Elazar, Shaar Yissachar, Nimukei Orach Chaim, Divrei Torah in nine parts, and more.
Category
Polemical Booklets – Maramureș, Munkacs and Hungarian Communities
Catalogue
Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $1,500
Sold for: $3,000
Including buyer's premium
Postcard with a letter (2 lines) signed by Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs, author of Minchat Elazar. Munkacs, 6 Tishrei, 1931.
Sent to the philanthropist R. Eliezer Bollag in Baden, Switzerland. The letter is written briefly:
"I send you loving greetings and bless you with a Gmar Chatimah Tovah, to be sealed for a long, blessed life, the year of redemption and salvation speedily in our days among the rest of Israel – Chaim Elazar Shapiro". Official stamp of the Rebbe –
"Oberrabbiner L. Spira Mukačevo".
On the reverse side of the postcard is a letter from the Rebbe's attendant, R. Chaim Dov Grünfeld "writing at the command of the Rebbe": "And I was commanded by the Rebbe to send an affectionate response and bless you with new year wishes of a Gmar Chatimah Tovah and a good year blessed with all good things, with bountiful blessing and success in all your endeavors with all your family, may their names be written for many good years, and may you bring them up to good deeds with happiness and ease, the year of redemption and salvation…".
Postcard. Approx. 15x10.5 cm. Good condition. Stains.
Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs (1872-1937), the Minchat Elazar, was a leading Torah scholar, halachic and Chassidic authority. Son of Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch Shapiro, author of Darchei Teshuvah, and grandson of Rebbe Shlomo Shapiro, author of Shem Shlomo (both also Av Beit Din of Munkacs), he was born to the dynasty of Rebbe Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, the Bnei Yissachar. He fought for the holiness of Judaism, and his halachic and kabbalistic teachings are studied all over the world. Author of Minchat Elazar, Shaar Yissachar, Nimukei Orach Chaim, Divrei Torah in nine parts, and more.
Category
Rebbes and Rabbis of Munkacs – Letters and Books
Catalogue
Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $300
Sold for: $2,250
Including buyer's premium
Three letters handwritten by R. Chaim Dov Grünfeld, attendant of Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro, the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs, who signs "at the holy command of the Rebbe". Munkacs, [ca. 1930s].
Letters on postcards, each bearing the official stamp of the Rebbe –
"Oberrabbiner L. Spira Mukačevo".
Sent to the philanthropist R. Eliezer Bollag in Baden, Switzerland. Two of the letters carry varying blessings (written "at the command of the Rebbe" Minchat Elazar) for health, success and livelihood at length: "And I was commanded by the Rebbe to respond affectionately that he entreats and prays for you to have bountiful blessing and success in all your endeavors, and merit to raise all your offspring… in happiness, ease and all your wishes for good and blessing…"; "And I was commanded by the Rebbe to respond affectionately that he entreats and prays for you to have bountiful blessing and success in all your endeavors, and may the creator of cures send your wife a complete recovery, and may you merit to raise all your offspring… in happiness, ease and all your wishes for good and blessing…".
The third letter was written about ten days after the passing of the Minchat Elazar (2 Sivan, 1937). The attendant R. Chaim Dov Grünfeld describes in his letter the loss and grief, and tells of the printing of the Rebbe's ethical will and his desire to go on to print his works in manuscript, and he informs him of the appointment of the Rebbe's son-in-law R. Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowitz to succeed him as rebbe and rabbi:
"…Due to the bitterness and great grief for the fall of our crown, I was silent and could not take the pen in hand to respond affectionately, and my eye weeps tears for the terrible tragedy that has come to pass… Our only consolation is for his holy words to be fulfilled: that he will neither rest nor be at peace in heaven like the other Tzaddikim until our Messiah is sent, speedily in our days".
He goes on to write about the Rebbe's ethical will and printing his works in manuscript:
"…And I am sending you the holy ethical will that I printed… in which you will see his request of our fellow Chassidim… to help pay the debts and also to print his holy works… And I know that while he was alive you loved him fervently, and since the righteous even when dead are called alive, I ask you to make every effort to dedicate a worthy sum to these matters, in which merit he will advocate for you to be saved in all your wishes for good and blessing as he wrote in his holy handwriting in the above ethical will".
He goes on to tell of the new rebbe's appointment:
"…And I can also inform you that the Rebbe's son-in-law was chosen as Av Beit Din to take the position of his great father-in-law the Rebbe, and he is a new bottle full of aged wine…".
3 postcards. 14.5x9.5 to 14.5x10.5 cm. Good condition. Light wear. Marginal tear to one postcard.
Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs (1872-1937), the Minchat Elazar, was a leading Torah scholar, halachic and Chassidic authority. Son of Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs, author of Shem Shlomo, he was born to the dynasty of Rebbe Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, the Bnei Yissachar. He fought for the holiness of Judaism, and his halachic and kabbalistic teachings are studied all over the world. Author of Minchat Elazar, Shaar Yissachar, Nimukei Orach Chaim, Divrei Torah in nine parts, and more.
His son-in-law, Rebbe Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowitz (1915-1998), son of Rebbe Natan David of Parczew (Biala). Married the only daughter of the Minchat Elazar of Munkacs, in a wedding recorded in the contemporary newspapers as the largest Jewish wedding in Hungary. Served as Av Beit Din of Munkacs and led the community for three years until the Holocaust. During the Holocaust he took an active part in saving Jews, while using his skills to find original means of rescue. After some travels he eventually reached Jerusalem. In 1945 he moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where he served as rabbi and taught in the local university. In 1963 he immigrated to Israel to serve as Rabbi of Holon. In 1976 he moved to Petah Tikva, where he established his Beit Midrash and wrote his books Binat Nevonim and Divrei Nevonim. His children from his first wife are the famous Rebbes of Munkacs and Dinov in the United States.
Category
Rebbes and Rabbis of Munkacs – Letters and Books
Catalogue
Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
Nov 21, 2023
Opening: $800
Sold for: $4,000
Including buyer's premium
Midrash Rabbah, Parts II-III, on Vayikra-Devarim and Five Megillot. Vilna: the widow and brothers Romm, 1878. Two title pages (the first shortened). Two parts in one volume. Not including Part I (on Bereshit-Shemot).
Copy of Rebbe Shlomo Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs – many of his stamps on title pages and margins of other leaves, from his tenure as Rabbi of Strzyżów:
"Shlomo Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Strzyżów".
Rebbe Shlomo Shapiro, Av Beit Din of Munkacs (1831-1893), first Rebbe of the Munkacs dynasty, son of Rebbe Elazar Shapiro of Lantzut (Łańcut) and grandson of Rebbe Tzvi Elimelech Shapiro of Dinov (Dynów), author of Bnei Yissachar. Son-in-law of R. Shmuel Shmelka of Sassov. In 1858, when his father Rebbe Elazar moved to serve as Rabbi of Łańcut, he was appointed to his place as Av Beit Din of Strzyżów, Galicia. In 1880 he began to serve in Munkacs. He traveled to Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin, Rebbe Meir of Premishlan, Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch of Rimanov, the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, the Sar Shalom of Belz and more. His son is Rebbe Tzvi Hirsch Shapiro of Munkacs, the Darchei Teshuvah. His grandson, Rebbe Chaim Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs, the Minchat Elazar, describes his great holiness and the wondrous effects his singing had on his listeners: "Anyone whose soul was sick would be healed immediately, and they would see that while he was singing God's hand was upon him…". He left behind several halachic and aggadic works named Shem Shlomo, but he left the instruction in his will not to publish any of them, since he had not completed them in a state fit for printing, and for another reason he did not disclose. Nonetheless, his teachings were often copied in the book of his son and grandson. In his will, he permitted to write only the following praise in his epitaph: "Did good in religious matters for the town and for individuals".
[2], 2-54, [5]; 2-95, 1-2, 97-120; 1-13; 1-43, [1]; [1], 2-31; [1], 2-31; 1-15 leaves. Missing leaf 3 from the second sequence (before leaf 97). Additional leaves may be missing. 38 cm. Dry paper. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and wear. Marginal tears and open tears, some reinforced with paper. Inscriptions and stamps. New binding.
Category
Rebbes and Rabbis of Munkacs – Letters and Books
Catalogue